About

Responsible Volunteering is an independent, privately owned website not affiliated with any provider of volunteer programs. Read more about us:

We believe that responsible volunteer programs are a great option to those who are willing to spend their time and money to get in touch with different countries, cultures and living conditions and who do not want to spend their holiday in a premium beach hotel.

But we believe it is a tough challenge to create a program that is really making a change. Therefore we want to inform, support and encourage those who try.

We met many volunteers who have only the best intentions but who – due to a lack of information – are choosing programs which aim not to support local communities but to generate money out of the volunteer’s work.

This homepage aims to be of special interest to those who are planning to volunteer and everyone interested or working in the field of voluntourism. It provides up-to-date information about the voluntourism market and brand new articles about Responsible Volunteering and related topics.

responsible-volunteering.com is a single platform bringing together a broad range of relevant information, data, discussions and analysis of interest. The aim is to promote and share learning in order to enhance a common understanding of the situation across the voluntourism market and research. Sharing key information will inspire volunteers and operators change and develop the market.

This platform will ensure that volunteers can make a sustainable choice that benefits all parties involved. When it comes to signing up for a volunteering experience abroad, there are endless options out there. Done right, volunteering overseas can have a profound impact on the volunteer, the receiving organization and the community. Done wrong, it can cause a lot of harm.

Our Mission

The objectives of responsible-volunteering.com are:

Provide a platform that helps potential volunteers to make good choices

Gather a range of information that helps operators and volunteers

Connect people interested in the field of voluntourism

Bring more transparency to the world of international volunteering

Promote and share information in order to enhance a common understanding of the idea and impact of voluntourism.

We have volunteered ourselves, worked in the field for many years and have been following the discussion of international voluntourism throughout the whole time.

We found that there are not enough independent platforms which provide high quality advice and information’s to help future volunteers. Most platforms are affiliated with companies and organizations, we aim to give independent advice and use the knowledge we gained to help develop the voluntourism market.

If you like our work and want to support us, we feel honored. Please feel free to spread the word and to share and forward our posts. If you want to support us financially: Thank you very much, but we will not accept any support to maintain and guarantee our complete independence.

Our Offer

Together, we can look back at more than 20 years of experience regarding volunteering, tourism and travel. In addition with our skills as social worker and manager we can help NGOs and agencies to in starting, maintaining or expanding voluntary services. Improving quality issues is our main focus. We are willing to support any effort and initiative working towards the goal of sustainable and responsible volunteering. If your program is looking for advise or support, please feel free to contact us via the contact form.